Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story
by Night-the-Dragon
Summary: Basically KH3D, but this is Riku and Kurai's half of the story, told from Kurai's POV. Remember, I don't own anything except for Shadow and Kurai. Credit for the game script goes to DJ Firewolf on gamefaqs. Sorry, no pairings this time.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: And this is Kurai's version of the story. I know there's a similarity in the beginning, but it'll morph into different parts as the fic goes along. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai. Credit for the game script goes to DJ Firewolf on gamefaqs.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story

Chapter 1

Sora, Riku, Shadow, and I stared out at the sea from the beach, watching the ocean. As Shadow and I perched on our respective partner's shoulders, Sora spoke up.

"But how far could a raft take us?" he wondered aloud.

"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else," Riku replied. Later on, as we sailed along dark waters on the raft, Sora spoke again.

"Riku, a storm's coming," he warned my partner. The brunette kneeled and looked at the water.

"I know," the silverette nodded. "The waves are getting steep. Furl the sail."

"Right," Shadow said, and was about to when something big shot out of the water, ripping the mast clean off of our raft. Sora and Shadow ducked in time, but Riku and I were knocked into the water, clinging to the raft's mast for dear life.

"Riku!" Sora cried out.

"Kurai!" Shadow shouted.

"We're fine!" we called back. Suddenly, the waters began to churn violently, and a familiar figure rose from the ocean's depths.

"What's that?" Riku wondered aloud.

"Oh, he was right. Those wretched guppies are here. Well, it's about time we settled the score," Ursula grinned evilly.

"Ursula?" Sora gasped as Shadow growled beside him. "But how—is this the test?"

"Come on! You can work it out later!" the silverette reminded him.

"All right!" my friend yelled back. Ursula suddenly noticed Riku and me standing on top of the floating mast.

"Sorry, dearies, but I won't fall for that trick!" she cackled, and slammed a tentacle onto the mast, giving us a chance to jump back onto the raft. "You dare toy with me? You insignificant fools! To the depths with you!" She then proceeded to blow large bubbles at us, but we all four swiftly dodged the rapid onslaught.

"Time for my revenge!" Ursula crowed as we dodged. She summoned lightning bolts, but we escaped unscathed. When Sora and Shadow lunged at her to attack, however, she snatched them up in her hand. "There, I have you now!"

Riku and I came to their rescue, attacking Ursula and making her release our friends with a cry of pain. Once we defeated her, she faded away eerily, and the waves became even rougher. As the raft was tossed about, the four of us were thrown into the water by the choppy waves. The storm raged above, thunder and lightning sounding and flashing above us as we sank into the depths of the ocean.

Suddenly, a keyhole appeared whilst we sank, and Sora's and Riku's Keyblades appeared into their hands, causing Shadow's and my claws to glow in response. As if they had a mind of their own, the Keyblades and our claws pointed at the keyhole and we each fired a beam of light at it, the light engulfing everything.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Master Yen Sid had summoned us to his tower, and behind him stood Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

"As a Keyblade Master, Xehanort had a gift like few others," Yen Sid began. "But such great minds are often plagued by a single great question. What is the essence of the heart that weakens us, or empowers us? The answer, he believed, would be found in the 'Keyblade War'. What if the challenges of our past were, in fact, a map to the light and darkness that battles within us all? Xehanort had to know, so he renounced his duties as master and chose the seeker's life. Since then, in many a guise, he has clashed with protectors of the light—Keyblade and light wielders like yourselves. And mark my words—he will trouble us yet again. We must be ready. Which is why you, Sora, Shadow, Riku, and Kurai, are to be tested for the marks of true Keyblade and light masters. No doubt you fancy yourselves masters already, but it takes years of training. Only a true master can teach you the proper ways. Both of you, Sora and Riku, are self-taught Keyblade wielders—an impressive feat. However, the time has come for you to let go of preconceived notions, forget what you know about the Keyblade, and begin your training again with a clean slate."

"Huh?!" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey all said in unison. I noticed Shadow watch Yen Sid curiously, as though wondering what he meant.

"But that's a formality, right?" the brunette asked. "Shadow and I already proved ourselves. Us and the king, and Riku and Kurai—we can take on anything. Right, Riku and Kurai?"

"I don't know," Riku answered honestly, and I lowered my head as the silverette summoned his Keyblade. "I think that in our hearts, darkness still has a hold." He dispelled his Keyblade.

"Walking that path changed us," I added. "We're not sure if we're ready to wield the Keyblade and light. Maybe we do need to be tested."

"Riku…" Sora murmured.

"Kurai…" Shadow growled softly. Our friends turned back to Yen Sid.

"Then count us in," Sora and Shadow told him firmly. "Put us through the test! Just watch—us, Riku, and Kurai will pass with flying colors!" Sora folded his hands behind his head, feeling confident. I watched with Shadow as Donald, Goofy, and Mickey exchange glances, and I felt curious as to what they were thinking.

"Very well, then," Yen Sid nodded. "Sora, Shadow, Riku, and Kurai, let your examination begin."

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Riku and I awoke in a quite familiar environment, which we looked about at with a sense of nostalgia.

"Are we in…Traverse Town?" Riku wondered curiously. He examined his jeans and felt the collar of his shirt while I noticed a large symbol emblazoned on his back. "My clothes have changed," he remarked. Suddenly, we realized Sora and Shadow weren't with us.

"Shadow!" I called.

"Sora! Where are you?" Riku shouted. Riku paced and voiced his thoughts while I jumped on his shoulder, my dark grey armor barely reflecting the dim light from the street lamps. "I remember we fell overboard after Ursula attacked…and then I think we opened a Keyhole," he murmured. "So…this must be one of the Sleeping Worlds. My Keyblade—it just sort of…popped into my hand when I needed it most."

"And my light, too," I chimed in as Riku stared at his empty hand. "Looks like it's started."

"Wow! Where's your portal?" a voice asked out of nowhere. I jumped slightly, startled by the suddenness of the voice. I hadn't detected anyone near us, so it caught me off guard. Riku gasped as I jumped, and we looked to the source. A boy with long silver hair and violet eyes sitting on an arch over the fountain in the corner of the square. "It takes something special to jump between grounds without one."

"Who are you?" Riku asked.

"My name is Joshua," the boy answered.

"What do you mean, 'Portal'?" I added.

"Are we just skipping past the part where you tell me your names?" Joshua retorted.

"Riku," Riku replied impatiently.

"Kurai," I said.

"Hello there, Riku and Kurai," Joshua chuckled. "Portals are like gateways that link up our worlds. Apparently, the world you and I are standing in right now—well, there are two copies of it. It's been sort of split in half. Portals are what let folks like us cross between them."

"There can be two of a world?" I questioned, my tone doubtful. This kid knew a lot; too much to be trusted.

"The world is as many things as people need it to be," he replied. "The concept that we all live in the same world—that's just in our heads. Surely you knew? I'll tell you what, Riku and Kurai. I've got a little errand for you."

"Sorry. We don't trust you," Riku stated coolly, and turned to leave. I shuffled my wings on my back irritably.

"Aw, at least hear me out!" Joshua pleaded with a grin. "I'm looking for a girl named Rhyme. She's the key to the Portal. And on the other side, who knows what we'll find? Maybe even your friends…Sora and Shadow."

"You know Sora and Shadow?" we asked, surprised. Joshua merely laughed.

"Now I have your attention," he smirked. Dropping down to our level, he continued. "But, unfortunately, I don't know where they are. If they're not in this version of the world, I can only assume they have to be in the other one. Simple logic."

"Okay, you wanna find Rhyme? Let's go," I nodded, and we followed Joshua into the Second District.

"Joshua, why don't they ever attack you?" Riku asked as we walked.

"'They' being Dream Eaters?" Joshua assumed. "They won't go after you unless you're a dreamer. Which is funny, because I've got plenty of dreams."

"But they're definitely attacking Riku and me…" I pointed out. "So…you think we're dreamers?"

"Everyone is a dreamer," the boy replied. "I had a friend once who said he never dreamed of anything, but it turned out his were the most powerful dreams of all. You both sort of remind me of him. Why don't we give your dreams shape? In this world, they take form as Dream Eaters, which can become great allies."

The slighter silverette helped Riku and me create a Komory Bat, which flapped its wings happily in front of us.

"I gotchu now, Joshua!" a new voice shouted angrily, and a muscular boy wearing a white tank top and a skull hat ran along the pathway in front of the hotel. Stopping in front of us, he put his foot on the railing and pointed at his chest. "Once I take you down, yo, me and Rhyme is goin' back where we belong!"

"Beat," Joshua sighed. "How many times do we have to go over this? You've tricked—by that rogue in the black coat."

"What?" I gasped.

"Black coats? But that's…" Riku trailed off as we looked at each other, realizing who was messing with this guy.

"I'm telling you you've made a friend of our enemy," Joshua continued.

"Just can it, aight?" Beat growled. "Your inverse psychiatry ain't gonna work! Let's go, Dream Eaters!" Suddenly, a panda bear-like Dream Eater appeared, but it happily made its way over to Komory Bat instead of Joshua. "What?! Man, not cool!" Joshua merely laughed as Riku and I fought alongside Komory Bat and defeated the Dream Eaters.

"You know what? Forget it," Beat sighed angrily as he sat down on the railing in defeat. "This is stale, yo."

"Playing the tough guy 24/7? I'd be worn out, too," Joshua grinned.

"I just…wanna protect the one person who matter," Beat muttered.

"We know the feeling," Riku and I nodded. Suddenly, we were overcome with a mysterious sleepiness. "Why are we suddenly…so sleepy?" Our balance faltered and I fell off Riku's shoulder as we blacked out.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Riku and I woke up in the First District, where we had been when we fell asleep.

"What happened? Did we fall asleep?" Riku asked me curiously. I merely shrugged, not entirely certain. The silverette stood as I jumped onto his shoulder again and he started to pace.

"Where are Joshua and Beat?" I wondered aloud.

"Hey, do you mind?" a girl's voice shouted indignantly, and we looked to see a pink-haired girl being chased by Dream Eaters. We took off after them back into the First District, and found the girl cornered by them at a closed door. Summoning his Keyblade, Riku and I took a defensive stance in front of the girl.

"Stay back," he ordered, and I growled. Riku and I fought off all of the Dream Eaters with help from Komory Bat, taking them out with ease. When we finished, we looked at the pink-haired girl, who was holding a black stuffed cat doll in her arms.

"Seriously, thanks. I'm Shiki, how 'bout you?" she said gratefully.

"Riku."

"Kurai."

"Thanks, Riku and Kurai," she smiled.

"Sure," I shrugged, and we started to walk away.

"Hey! That's it?" Shiki huffed. "You chat up a girl and then just say, 'Sure,' and walk off?" We paused and looked back at her.

"We're bad at this," Riku muttered.

"Speak for yourself," I snorted.

"Sorry. Look, it's not safe here. You should go home," he continued as though I hadn't interrupted.

"If it's dangerous, how can you just leave me here? Aren't you my knights in shining armor?" Shiki said with a wink while playing with her doll. I snorted and rolled my eyes. "Well?"

"Kn-knight? You've got the wrong idea," Riku stuttered, embarrassed. I chuckled at his expression.

"Omigosh, I was so just kidding. You get out much?" she giggled. Riku merely folded his arms, unable to form a response. "You remind me of this guy I know. Well, good thing we met."

"Yeah, great," I replied, a thin layer of sarcasm in my tone. We made our way to the Fifth District, where suddenly Shiki saw something.

"Over there!" she cried out, and took off running towards a staircase.

"Hey! We should stick together!" Riku called after her. Suddenly, Shiki cried out in alarm.

"Perfect," I grumbled irritably. We stopped running as we turned the corner at the staircase.

"You can't expect us too—" Riku started to say, but his words faltered as we saw a lone cloaked figure with Shiki's doll at his feet.

"Shiki! No way…" I murmured in shock. The figure stepped on the doll and kicked it away.

"How did you get here?" he demanded of us.

"Who are you?" I growled, baring my fangs. The doll hit Riku in the chest.

"By choice or by chance? You cannot control what you're not aware of," the figure replied. He then began to approach us, and we backed away slowly. "This wakeless sleep will be your prison…to wander forever." Riku and I reached the edge of the fountain and stopped.

"What do you mean?" Riku demanded.

"Riku, Kurai, don'chu listen to that punk!" Beat yelled, and I glanced over to see the boy standing near Shiki. "Shiki's gonna be fine! She told me whassup. Hoodie here set this whole thing up, yo. He promised to send Shiki back to our world, and you was the cost of travel." Glaring at the hooded man, he growled, "Yo, this is seriously one half-baked excuse for a mission. Betchu ain't even a Reaper."

The figure removed his hood, revealing his yellow eyes, which appeared to glow, and long silver hair.

"All right. Who are you?" I snarled. The man didn't respond, but instead raised his arms, summoning a large Dream Eater. The Nightmare flew into the garden as the cloaked man left through a dark corridor.

"Wait!" Riku shouted, but it was too late.

"I'm really sorry, Riku and Kurai," Shiki mumbled apologetically. Riku tossed her doll back to her.

"It's all right," I assured her. "Beat, watch her."

"I gots this, yo!" Beat replied. And with that, Riku and I ran inside with Komory Bat and fought off the Dream Eater. Once we defeated it, we went back outside and joined the others. As we joined them, we saw images of Sora, Shadow, Joshua, and two others, a boy wearing a large pair of headphones and a small girl with a hat on.

"Hey, what is this?" Shiki wondered curiously. Riku and I walked up to the images of Sora and Shadow.

"What are we…seeing?" Riku asked no one in particular. I moved my hand into the images, but felt nothing.

"This is so messed up, man!" Beat cried in anguish, kneeling down to the small girl's level. "She's right here in front of me and…I can't reach her!" He tried to grab the girl, but like with me, his hand went right through the image.

"If your hearts are connected, you'll reach her," I told him with a faint smile.

"Rhyme…" Beat growled.

"Neku…" Shiki whispered.

"Sora…" Riku said softly.

"Shadow…" I muttered. With a flash, Joshua stood with Sora, Shadow, Riku, and me, Sora and Shadow in their half of Traverse Town while Riku and I stood in our half.

"In their world, something happened that brought their existence to an end," Joshua began. "To keep them from fading altogether, I gathered up the very last remnant of their dreams and looked for a place to give them refuge. It was then this world appeared to answer my call, and Rhyme's dreams allowed us to reach it. Here, I thought they might have a chance—that the pieces of their dreams could make them whole again. Imagine my surprise when I realized dreams take bodily form in this world. It struck me—by linking their dream pieces back together, maybe I could make them exist again. Maybe I could give them another chance."

"It can't be that simple," Riku said.

"Well, why can't it?" Joshua replied smoothly. "By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone—that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was for someone to see them, connect with them. And the four of you were a big part of making it happen."

"Joshua, just…who are you?" the four of us questioned at once.

"Let's say…a friend," the slighter boy smiled, and suddenly, angel wings sprouted from his back, making Shadow and me jump, startled. Joshua took off into the air, leaving us behind, and a Keyhole appeared in the air before us. Nodding to each other, we all sealed the Keyhole together.

A/N: Finally finished it! R&R, peeps!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Again, I'll be writing the chapters world per world. Hope you like this! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai. Refer to the first disclaimer for the script.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story

Chapter 2

Riku and I arrived in a world with a gigantic bell tower. When we arrived in the square of the cathedral, a tall man in gold armor chased after a dark-haired woman in a violet dress.

"Stop her!" he yelled. Upon reaching some festival tents that she couldn't pass, the woman turned and bowed to the man before disappearing with a puff of pink smoke. Riku and I had walked into the area as she had run past, and had watched her escape. The man ran over to us. "You there! Have you seen a gypsy woman?"

"Nope. Sorry," I shrugged. I could barely hear her faint breathing as she listened in nearby, hiding around the corner.

"All right. Thanks," the man told us. He walked over to an older man with strong features, who was clad in a long black robe with a red sash hanging from his triangular hat. "I'm terribly sorry, sir. We've lost her."

"Slippery vermin!" the older man growled. I immediately had a very bad feeling about him. Turning back to the armor-clad man, he stated coldly, "I'm beginning to question having summoned you back from the wars, Captain Phoebus." The captain sighed heavily and followed the older man as he left. Riku paused as I looked in the direction the woman was hiding, and then she stepped out and came over to us.

"Thank you. You stood up for me," she smiled. "I'm Esmeralda."

"Riku," the silverette greeted.

"Kurai," I nodded with a faint smile. "And it's not like we know what a 'gypsy' is. Why are they chasing you?"

"Judge Frollo has been hunting us for years. We gypsies are guilty of nothing but loving our freedom, yet Frollo hates whatever he can't control. Now he's even brought in fresh blood to torment us," she explained, and sighed. "I'd hate to know what darkness drives that man."

"I think we can imagine…" Riku replied. "Tell us more. Was he always like this?"

"I don't give Frollo much thought," Esmeralda admitted. "But if you'd like, you could try Notre Dame. They say it's a place for answers." Riku and I looked over to the cathedral and then made our way inside. Entering the massive double doors, we made our way across the tiled floor. I realized how quiet it was, and it unnerved me a bit.

"Is anybody here?" Riku called out.

"Who…who are you?" a soft, shy voice asked. Riku and I turned to see a man in green clothing in the corner of the room. Walking a bit closer, we noticed his hunched back and disfigured face.

"We're Riku and Kurai," I told him, smiling warmly as I gestured to us each in turn.

"Oh. M-my name's Quasimodo," the man replied. "I'm very sorry, but the Archdeacon is away." He turned to the stairs.

"Actually, we're looking for a man named Frollo," Riku said. "Do you know where he is?" At the mention of the name, Quasimodo paused and perked up slightly.

"My master? He said he had business on the outskirts of the city," he answered.

"Do you mean you know him?" I asked.

"Oh, yes. He's…he's very kind," Quasimodo told us. "Master Frollo saved my life. He protects me from the outside world."

"He 'protects' you from it?" I questioned doubtfully. Quasimodo looked down at his hands and covered his face sadly.

"The people out there would be cruel to me," he murmured. "I'm a monster, you know."

"Is that what Frollo told you? Trust us, looks can be deceiving. A true friend sees you for who you are, no matter what face you wear," Riku told him with a smile. "You should go out there—find some friends who understand you."

"Oh no…My master forbids it. I'm not to set foot outside," Quasimodo mumbled shyly.

"Are you sure that's what's stopping you?" I said. "Because I think something else is holding you back." Quasimodo started to walk towards the stairs again.

"Ask your heart, Quasimodo," Riku called after him, and he paused again. "We'll check the edge of town. Thanks." And with that, we left, but as we walked down the stairs, I couldn't help the bitter words that left my mouth.

"Wish we could take our own advice…" I muttered. We made our way to the bridge that led out of town, but when we reached it, a large shadow flew over us.

"A Dream Eater," Riku remarked.

"And a big one at that," I added. It flew towards a tower and turned to face us, shooting a large fireball.

"What?" Riku gasped, and I screeched as we ran out of the way, the fireball hitting a pile of crates. We tried to run at the creature to attack it, but it launched more fireballs at us.

"Oh, like this is fair…No use, we gotta run for it," I growled. We raced across the bridge, knocking out the smaller Nightmares and obstacles with help from Komory Bat as we ran. We reached the other side of town, the giant Dream Eater, called Wargoyle, in hot pursuit. We continued to dodge the fireballs as we made our way to Frollo, who was at the windmill. When Riku and I found him, the Wargoyle hovered behind Frollo, who was standing before Captain Phoebus. The captain stood in a defensive stance in front of the door to the windmill.

"What demon is this?" Phoebus gasped when he saw it. The Wargoyle hovered closer to Frollo, a dark aura pulsing from his folded hands.

"Oh, you are mistaken, Captain Phoebus," Frollo said. "This is no demon. This is righteous judgment! I have been granted this power so I may smite all gypsies now and forever!"

"This is all wrong!" the captain yelled.

"He won't listen," I warned. "Once you've fallen that far, there's almost no coming back."

"How dare you," Frollo snapped. "I am a virtuous man. Good and evil shall be made plain…once the gypsies face the fire of judgment." He walked away, laughing quietly to himself, and the Wargoyle following him. The captain quickly ran ahead of the Nightmare.

"No you don't!" he shouted, but the Wargoyle spun and tackled him, knocking him to the ground, and then flew away. Riku and I ran over to him as he grasped at his arm painfully.

"You all right?" Riku asked.

"Well, I can't say you didn't warn me," Phoebus chuckled.

"You should take it easy," I advised. "We'll deal with Frollo."

"Thanks," he said gratefully. "I gotta tell you, this is embarrassing—having to rely on a kid and a lizard." I bristled and growled at the insult.

"Not a lizard," I huffed, and flared my wings a bit.

"You wouldn't be the first. Sorry," Riku apologized.

"I'll admit, you look more capable than me right now," the captain muttered. "All right, be careful. It looks like that creature…is heading for the cathedral." We watched it fly towards the city before straightening up.

"Okay. Got it," I nodded, and we began to swiftly make our way back to the city. Riku and I ran into the square, where we saw the bonfire still burning as Quasimodo held Esmeralda, who was out of breath.

"Is she going to be all right?" Riku asked.

"I'm fine, thanks to Quasimodo," she assured us.

"Quasimodo, where did the creature go?" I demanded.

"It's…it's up there," he answered, and Riku and I looked at each with a nod.

"Right," we said, and started to leave, both of them watching us.

"W-wait. Wait, I'll go with you!" Quasimodo called after us.

"Thanks, but stay with her," Riku said. Again, we started to leave, but the silverette paused before asking, "Quasimodo. Did your heart have the answer?" The man nodded and we resumed our run into the cathedral. A Dream Eater that was about to attack vanished as three gargoyles appeared.

"Well! I guess…you three got this covered," I shrugged.

"It was a walk in the park!" the first one, Hugo, boasted.

"How would you know? You don't have any legs!" the second one, Victor, retorted.

"Yeah, but—aw, gimme a break! It's just a figure of speech!" Hugo grumbled.

"Both of you, pipe down. And get ready! 'Cause here come some more!" the third one, Laverne, snapped. They turned around and charged as more Dream Eaters appeared.

"Yee-haw!" Hugo crowed.

"It's up there," I commented as we looked up. We ran up the stairs, where we spotted Frollo. The smoke and fire from the square billowed upwards as Frollo cackled evilly from atop the parapet of Notre Dame.

"Yes! Let it burn. The flames will consume everything!" Frollo cried out. Riku and I ran over to him. "You see? This is the power that has been granted to me!"

"I see a sad old man with a dark heart," I commented drily. Frollo turned to face us as his darkness raged.

"Again, you are wrong! Now you will be judged, just like the rest!" he declared, and the Wargoyle flew up the side of the tower, knocking Frollo from the parapet. As he fell into the roaring flames to his death, his sword fell from his hand onto the parapet. "Judgment is mine!" he screamed as he plummeted. Riku and I stared in horror and shock as an all-too-familiar man walked over to the sword. A man with white hair, tan skin, and yellow eyes.

"You're Ansem!" Riku gasped. "Why are you here?" I noticed the young man from Traverse Town was accompanying him.

"Your best friends are never far," the young man said as Ansem bent down and picked up the discarded sword.

"So sad. The cost of yielding to the darkness," Ansem remarked blandly.

"You could write a book about that," I growled.

"But I embraced the darkness—and unless you hurry up and learn to do the same, your story will end just like his," Ansem said, pointing the sword at us.

"We walk the road to dawn!" Riku and I declared, and Riku summoned his Keyblade, making my claws glow in response.

"Still afraid of the dark, I see," the young man commented. A dark corridor appeared behind them, and the young man entered it first. Right before Ansem vanished in it, however, he smirked at us.

"Wait!" Riku shouted, but it was too late.

"He thinks we're afraid of the dark?" I scoffed. "No, not while we have the Keyblade and light." Riku readied his Keyblade and pointed it at the Wargoyle. "It will guide us to the light!" We fought and defeated the Wargoyle, thanks to help from Komory Bat, and it plummeted to the square below, losing its wings as it fell.

Later on, while the city was peaceful again, Riku and I stood with Esmeralda, Phoebus, and Quasimodo in the square.

"Master Frollo—he made me live inside the bell tower, but the real walls were the ones I built around my heart," Quasimodo said. "You helped me see that, Riku and Kurai." Riku and I slowly clenched our fists.

"We were…speaking from…personal experience," Riku murmured.

"I'd say you still keep a lot locked up inside," Phoebus remarked.

"We all do that sometimes," Esmeralda pointed out. "There are just some things we need to keep separate from the world at large, at least until we have time to figure them out." She smiled at us, and we nodded in response. Later, while alone, Riku and I thought to ourselves about Ansem.

"I know the road my heart walks," we murmured in unison. A Keyhole appeared in the stained glass window of the cathedral, and Riku and I sealed it.

A/N: And finished! Four updates in one day? That's amazing! Especially considering how busy I've been! Anyhoo, R&R, peeps!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: And now, for the next chapter! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story

Chapter 3

Riku and I arrived inside of a familiar place. It looked like a giant creature's mouth, which was a dead giveaway for me. The silverette looked about inside the mouth, spotting several piles of wood.

"Pinocchio!" a voice called out worriedly. Riku and I looked over to see an old man on a wooden boat. "Son! Where have you run off to?"

"Isn't that…Geppetto?" Riku asked me quietly. I nodded. "Then…this must be…" _Monstro_, my mind supplied. We made our way over to the boat where we found Geppetto the clock maker sitting on his bed, his head resting in his hands.

"What's the matter?" Riku asked. Startled, Geppetto jumped slightly before looking at us.

"Huh? Goodness, who are you?" he wondered.

"Riku and Kurai," I said.

"Oh, Riku and Kurai. You poor lads," the old man sighed. "Seems you were swallowed up by Monstro just like the rest of us. My name is Geppetto, and I'm looking for my son, Pinocchio."

"Pinocchio's gone missing?" Riku said curiously.

"I'm afraid so. After all my searching, I found him here in the whale. But then he ran off again to who-knows-where," Geppetto explained.

"That sounds kind of…familiar," my partner murmured, and I nodded.

"Mister Geppetto, let us go look for your son," I offered.

"You would do that? Thank you. Are you sure?" he asked.

"Yeah. Leave it to us," Riku assured him.

"Did ya say you were really going to help us find Pinocchio?" a familiar voice asked, and we turned to see Jiminy Cricket on a nearby table.

"Jiminy?" I said, tilting my head to the side, puzzled.

"Huh? That's right—name's Jiminy! Jiminy Cricket. But shucks, have we met?" the cricket wondered aloud.

"No—you know, never mind," Riku said dismissively.

"Hmm, if you say so," Jiminy shrugged. "Anyway, Pinocchio comes first."

"Right. Any idea where he went?" I suggested.

"Well, I'm almost certain he wandered off with a stranger," he answered.

"Can you describe him?" Riku pressed.

"Hmm…I remember he was dressed in a black coat," the cricket nodded.

"A black coat?" we gasped. "He's back again." We touched our hearts and paused for a moment.

"Thanks," I told him as we started to leave, but Jiminy hopped onto Riku's other shoulder.

"Huh?" Riku said.

"Well, I'm goin' with ya," he said determinedly. "Pinocchio's gonna need his conscience, and that's where I come in." Riku, Jiminy, and I went further inside, where we found Pinocchio walking along with a hooded man and a smaller figure on the figure's shoulder. "Pinocchio!" The wooden boy turned and saw us.

"Jiminy!" he cried out.

"Let him go now!" Riku ordered as I growled warningly. The hooded figure tapped Pinocchio forward, confusing the puppet for a moment, but he ran over to us nonetheless. Jiminy hopped over to meet him.

"Thank goodness," Jiminy breathed. "Are you all right? Riku, Kurai, and I looked for ya everywhere."

"Uh-huh. I'm just fine," Pinocchio assured him. "Sorry, Jiminy. I messed up real bad. You and Father must have been so worried about me."

"Why, Pinocchio, I think ya just might be finally startin' to learn," Jiminy praised. As they talked, Riku and I approached the hooded figures.

"Who are you?" we demanded, but when they removed their hoods, they turned out to be doppelgangers. "Us?" The pair opened a dark corridor and went through it. Riku and I ran to follow, but the corridor closed before we could reach it. We froze, stunned.

"As I live and breathe…" Jiminy whispered in shock.

"That was our…our dark side," we explained. "We gave in to the darkness once. And ever since, it's chased us around in one form or another. The Seeker of Darkness who stole our bodies…puppet replicas of the shadows in our hearts…and now, we're facing us."

"Your dark sides?" Jiminy repeated curiously.

"Gee, Riku and Kurai, don't you have a Jiminy like I do?" Pinocchio asked. "He's taught me all kinds of important stuff. Maybe you just need somebody to show you what's right and wrong."

"Sure," Jiminy agreed. "You can't shoulder all your problems alone, ya know. You must have somebody—a friend or friends you can talk to?"

"Yeah…actually, we do," we told them with a faint smile. "Those stupid grins they're always wearing—they're the best teachers we could have."

"Gee whiz…I wish I had lots of good friends," Pinocchio mumbled sadly.

"You will, Pinocchio. More than you can count," Jiminy promised him. Out of nowhere, Monstro let out a wail, making me wince and want to clamp my hands over my ears.

"What now?" I grumbled. The silverette and I looked to another chamber.

"Is something in there?" Riku wondered aloud. "Pinocchio, Jiminy, you should head back. We'll see what's shaking things up."

"Okay!" they chirped, and left.

Riku and I proceeded to adventure further inside of Monstro, where we discovered a Char Clawbster in the depths. It had latched itself to Monstro's innards. As Riku walked in with me on his shoulder, it shot out a blast of fire at the entrance, sealing it temporarily. Riku swiftly skid along the ground to dodge as the Char Clawbster jumped over us. Summoning his Keyblade, Riku positioned himself in a defensive stance as I jumped down onto the ground, bristling and snarling as the Nightmare turned to face us. We quickly defeated the Char Clawbster, and then made our way back to the mouth, where we watched as Geppetto and Pinocchio were reunited, hugging tightly.

"I thought we were only sent into the past on the Destiny Islands," Riku said to me.

"So why does it seem like time was rewound in this world, too?" I wondered.

"Maybe it's like Master Yen Sid said—the world was freed from darkness, but has yet to wake from it," Riku replied.

"It's trapped in a never-ending dream," I realized. The Keyhole appeared, and Riku and I sealed it before preparing to move on.

A/N: And now, the sixth update today! R&R, peeps!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: And here's The Grid! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story

Chapter 4

Riku and I appeared in the next world with a flash of light, and the silverette examined himself in his new digital attire. My dark grey armor was even patterned in a similar manner.

"My clothes…Is this world special?" Riku wondered curiously. A sudden flash of light made us look up.

"A Dream Eater?" I guessed. The source of the light, an enormous flying machine, landed near us.

"No…Let's see how this plays out," the silverette suggested, and I nodded from his shoulder. Two guards exited the lowered passenger bay while two more approached us and grabbed Riku by the shoulders and pulled me off of him.

"Another stray," one of them said. Riku and I didn't struggle, so they released their grip, and I sprang back onto my partner's shoulder. The two of us walked over to the ship, apparently called a Recognizer, and stood in place next to another man.

"Are you a prisoner?" the man asked.

"Yeah. It looks that way," Riku answered.

"Name's Sam," he told us.

"I'm Kurai, and this is Riku," I replied. "Where are we, Sam?"

"We're on The Grid," Same said. Riku and I were transported to a place called the Game Grid, according to the guards, and it turned out to be a long, multi-leveled playing field. Riku stood with me crouched on his shoulder along a spacious lined raceway.

"You're in luck," an unfamiliar voice told us. We turned to see a man in a black body suit with glowing yellow stripes standing near us, two guards flanking him. "Only a precious few are granted Light Cycle battle privileges." The guard on the man's right walked over to us and handed Riku a small rod. Looking at it, I shrugged, not sure what it was for. We'll find out.

"You gonna explain why it's so lucky?" the silverette questioned.

"I'll show you," the man smirked. There was a sudden humming sound from behind us, and I looked sharply behind us with Riku to see two Light Cycles speed past us and race down the track.

"How hard can it be?" Riku shrugged as he looked at the rod in his hands.

Running forward, he held the rod in both hands, a Light Cycle forming in the air beneath him. I spread my wings and hovered next him, and then sped alongside the silverette as he raced full speed down the raceway, his front wheel raised for a few seconds before lowering.

Riku and I raced along the track, dodging the lasers from following Recognizers and the streams of light from other Light Cycles. Using his own stream of light form the back of his own Light Cycle, Riku took out the opposing ones, while I shot electric blasts at the flying opponents. When we had cleared out the others, a giant Dream Eater called Commantis flew in. The two of us fired shots at it, and definitely utilized the stream of light from the Light Cycle whenever Commantis was behind us. As soon as we finished it off, Riku and I looked at each other and nodded.

"I think we've had enough entertainment for one day," I growled. Riku smirked and activated the cycle's weaponry, shooting a heart-shaped hole into the wall. Riding through it, we came to a stop in the city.

"Riku! Kurai!" Sam's voice called out to us. He quickly ran over. "You made it. You escaped from the games."

"Yeah," Riku nodded.

"What, did you doubt us?" I laughed.

"I know a way off the Grid. Wanna come with?" Sam offered.

"No. You go ahead. Wait, what's the way out?" my partner asked, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"Through the Portal," Sam answered.

"Portal?" I repeated, confused.

"Yeah, it's like a gate that opened when I came here," he explained. "Once I'm back in the real world I can delete CLU. And then…then my dad will be able to come home."

"Your dad?" Riku questioned.

"He vanished—twenty years ago when he came here to the Grid," Sam told us. "But because he needed too protect his disk from CLU, he went into hiding. He's been trapped there ever since. But I'm gonna change that."

"I see…Sam, do you mind if we go with you after all? To the Portal?" I asked.

"Sure," he shrugged. "I'll take what help I can get. But first there's somebody I need to meet in the city." Riku and I nodded, and we ran to the city. When we arrived, Sam paused. "Kill some time until I get back." He then took off, leaving us alone. Suddenly, Dream Eaters appeared. Riku summoned his Keyblade to his hand, and my claws glowed with a pulsing light in response.

"Glad we get to fight more than boredom," the silverette smirked. He and I fought off the Dream Eaters with ease, but when we finished, we heard noises coming from the tower Sam had entered.

"What?" I uttered, looking in the direction of the tower. Riku and I glanced at each other before running ahead to the tower. There we found Sam and an older man that slightly resembled him and Sam was holding an injured girl in his arms. The older man must've been Sam's father.

"Sam!" Riku called out as we ran over.

"Who's this?" Sam's father, whom we later learned was named Flynn, asked.

"I'm Riku, and this is Kurai," the silverette answered, and gestured to me. "Sam, Kurai, and I were on our way to the Portal." Sam nodded to his father.

"Come with us," Flynn said.

"Where are we headed?" I asked.

"The Portal, but we need a Solar Sailer," the older man answered. "There's one in the underground docks." Walking on ahead, we made our way down to the underground docks, where Sam and Flynn carried the injured girl, whom Sam told us was named Quorra, to a hidden area where we wouldn't be spotted. Out of nowhere, Sam noticed something and spoke up.

"Your disc…Dad, it's gone," he murmured.

"It is," was all Flynn said. He kneeled down and checked on Quorra. "She's stable."

"We have to go back," Sam said urgently. "CLU will use it to reach the outside world. I can stop him from destroying it if you'd just let me do this!"

"You've done enough already!" Flynn barked back at him.

"So what do we do now?" Sam questioned.

"I don't know. Nothing. We do nothing. Be still. Wait," the older man muttered. Pausing, he added, "We can hop a Solar Sailer. A full-on sprint to the Portal. We can beat CLU there! Let's get her out of here." We quickly ran off to board a Solar Sailer, and started the ride. Sam and Flynn carefully laid Quorra down on the floor, and then Flynn scanned her code from a hologram on her identity disk.

"Is she gonna make it?" Sam wondered worriedly.

"I don't know," Flynn admitted.

"But didn't you write her code?" his son questioned.

"Some of it. But…the rest is just…" he paused as he moved his hand through different lines of blue code in the hologram, until he reached a blue spiral with a small red piece in it. "…beyond me."

"She's an ISO," Sam murmured.

"ISO?" I repeated curiously.

"A whole new life form," Flynn said. "Quorra is the last ISO."

"And you created them?" Riku guessed.

"They manifested, like a flame. They weren't really…really from anywhere," the older man explained. "The conditions were right and they came into being. For centuries we've dreamed of a pure existence beyond our own. I found them in here, like flowers in a wasteland. They were spectacular. Everything I'd hoped to find in the system—control, order, perfection—none of it meant a thing. The ISOs—they were gonna be my gift to the world." Reaching into the code, he pulled out the red piece, which flew away and dissolved. "There, good as new. It's gonna take a while for her system to reboot."

"So what happened…to your gift?" I asked softly.

"CLU. CLU happened," Flynn sighed. "He was built to create the perfect system. But endless potential can never, ever be fully realized. CLU saw the ISOs as an imperfection, so he destroyed them."

"He screwed up," Sam assumed.

"No, he's me," Flynn shook his head. "I screwed it up. Chasing after perfection—chasing after what was right in front of me. Right in front of me." He stared at his son as Riku and I walked down the Sailer.

"Look too hard for one thing and you miss everything else," we murmured. "And then, the people around you get hurt in the process. Like Xehanort. His single-minded thirst for answers created Ansem. We all have a little of that curiosity in us…So if we're not careful, any one of us could create an Ansem." Suddenly, a Recognizer flew by on our left, alerting us to its presence and making me growl in warning.

"Great. They found us," Riku grumbled.

"We've been put on a new course," Flynn said. We ended up at a docking station where we hid from a program named Rinzler. Thankfully, Quorra was awake by this time. Suddenly, Quorra handed her disk to Flynn.

"Good-bye," she said, and ran out to distract Rinzler.

"Quorra. Quorra!" Flynn called out.

"No, wait!" Sam hissed. Rinzler leapt down and subdued her.

"She's removing herself from the equation," Flynn said sadly.

"We can't just let her go," Sam argued.

"Yeah," Riku and I agreed.

"No. Hold on, Sam," Flynn told his son firmly. "What about getting you to the Portal? You shut them down from the outside."

"But Quorra comes first! And we still have to get back your disc," Sam pointed out.

"Sam. If you chase two rabbits, you won't catch either," Flynn replied.

"If this is a father-son thing, we won't butt in, but we should probably get back that disc at least—before CLU uses it to destroy the outside world," Riku interrupted. "Come on, Sam."

"Right," Sam nodded, and he turned to his father. "Meet me on the flight deck, and get us some wheels."

"Wheels? What's your plan?" his father wondered.

"I'm a User. I'll improvise," Sam smirked. Sam, Riku, and I then ran on ahead. "Riku, Kurai, I gotta save Quorra, too."

"Don't worry. We will," I assured him. Sam laughed lightly.

"The disc should be somewhere on the Throneship," he said. "I saw it dock here earlier." Looking around, he must have spotted it, because he pointed. "Over there!"

"All right," Riku nodded, and we ran over, sneaking onto the ship. It was a simple task to find Flynn's disk, as it was suspended by lasers in a circular hole overlooking the front of the ship. Walking up to it, Sam grabbed the disk, which sounded an alarm. Suddenly, the doors opened and Rinzler walked in with the captive Quorra.

"Sam. Go!" she cried out, but Rinzler knocked her to the floor and whipped out his disks. Riku summoned his Keyblade, making my claws glow, and Sam threw his own disc at Rinzler, who spun in the air to dodge it. Riku and I leapt at the wall, using Flowmotion, and kicked off from it, landing a powerful strike with the Keyblade and my claws at Rinzler. The program lost his discs and fell off the ship.

"What are you doing here?" Quorra demanded as Sam helped her up.

"To the flight deck!" Sam said instead.

"But CLU will be here any minute," she argued. "We'll never make it."

"Don't worry. Riku and Kurai are here to help," Sam pointed out. I grinned reassuringly. We quickly escaped and ran along the docks to find Flynn. Soon enough, the four of us caught up to the older man. Flynn had apparently gotten us a ride, which turned out to be a Light Jet. Once on board, the craft turned from red-lined to blue, and then everyone but me took off in it. I flew alongside them, relishing in the feeling of flying again. I followed the Light Jet to the Portal at the I/O Tower, where CLU was waiting for us at the bridge. Flynn stepped forward.

"This is mine," he told us. Approaching CLU, he called out, "Had a feeling you'd be here!"

"You! You promised that we would change the world…together! You broke your promise!" CLU accused. The Commantis Dream Eater appeared behind him, wind whipping around the Portal. I shuddered and hunkered down on Riku's shoulder. "I took the System to its maximum potential. And now, you see the applications at my disposal!" The Nightmare spun the disc on its back and clawed at the air with its mechanical pincers.

"I don't believe it," Flynn breathed. Riku and I approached him.

"You can leave this one to us," we said in unison. The two of us fought against the Commantis, making quick work of it, and then turned to our friends. As soon as we won, CLU looked shocked.

"I created the perfect system!" he bellowed.

"The thing about perfection is that it's unknowable. It's impossible, but it's also…right in front of us, all the time. You wouldn't know that because I didn't when I created you. I'm sorry, CLU. I'm sorry," Flynn told him apologetically. CLU stared at him for a few moments before kicking him away. Sam gave a yell and tried to tackle CLU, but the program merely tossed him over his shoulder. The young man rolled to the ground in pain as Quorra checked Flynn over. Riku and I ran over, my partner holding his Keyblade and me with my claws out and fangs bared. "Go," he ordered Quorra.

She nodded and used a rope to spin around the platform and landed in front of Sam, Riku, and me as CLU approached us. She whipped out a light-sword and faced him.

"CLU! Remember what you came here for," Flynn reminded him. The program walked back over to the older man, and the bridge split, separating CLU and Flynn from the rest of us. CLU kicked him in the face, flipping him over, and took his disk from his back. Activating it, he saw in horror that it was a hologram of Quorra, not Flynn.

"No…" CLU whispered. He looked over at the rest of us as we reached the Portal, and Quorra looked back at him. "No…why?" He turned to Flynn.

"He's my son," the older man answered simply. CLU deactivated the hologram and threw the disk onto the ground near Flynn, and then ran back up the bridge to the Portal. "Go!" Flynn shouted at us. CLU jumped over the gap in the bridge, nearly missing as he clung to the other side in desperation.

"Dad!" Sam cried out. His father stood.

"Sam! It's time!" the older man declared.

"No!" his son protested.

"Sam. It's what he wants," Quorra urged.

"I'm not leaving you!" Sam insisted.

"Take her!" Flynn ordered. Quorra handed Flynn's disk to Sam, and he accepted it from her. "Yes!" Sam held the disc upwards, activating the Portal, and light engulfed them. "Good-bye, kiddo." The identity disk floated upwards into the pillar of light, and Sam cast his father one last glance. CLU finally clambered onto the bridge and stood, but Riku and I ran over to protect the pair in the pillar of light.

"Don't even think about it," I growled warningly.

Suddenly, Flynn gasped and knelt quickly, his long coat flowing out behind him. The older man touched the ground and a burst of pure energy rippled from him. It reached CLU, and the program seemed as if he were being tugged back towards Flynn. He reached out to the Portal and tried to step forward, but the force pulling him back was too much. Flynn stood up with his arms out as the wind became too much for CLU, and knocked him back into Flynn, releasing out a massive pulse of bright energy that engulfed everything. When the light dissipated, Riku and I stood alone where the Portal once was.

"The Portal is gone," Riku began. "These gates that connect worlds—maybe when we pass through them, we're challenged, and changed. And it's not over. There are more trials ahead that we have to overcome. But we'll be ready, Sora."

"And Shadow," I added with a grin. The Keyhole appeared, and we sealed it together before moving on to the next world.

A/N: And there's that one! Like I stated earlier, I've been busy getting ready for a road trip, but I'll still be able to write and update. R&R, peeps!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Back to Traverse Town they go! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story

Chapter 5

Riku and I ended up in Traverse Town again.

"Traverse Town? Why are we back?" the silverette wondered aloud. I flicked my tail and shuffled my wings as we heard quiet footsteps behind us.

"Joshua," I greeted, looking behind us. Riku turned as well to face him.

"Nice of you to join us," the slighter silverette smirked.

"What happened?" Riku asked.

"Trouble happened," Joshua answered. "I was hoping one of your pairs could help."

"When did Sora and Shadow get here?" I questioned.

"Bravo, Kurai. Why can't they be this quick on the uptake?" he said.

"Yeah, well. Sora and Shadow are a little…" Riku started to say, but he trailed off. I knew what he meant, though, and apparently, so did Joshua. We all three laughed softly.

"Now, let's get down to the problem," Joshua stated. "We've got a nasty Dream Eater on our hands. It keeps jumping between worlds. Not only that, it knows how to summon other creatures like it—pretty powerful ones, too. The others are on a mission to stop it, but they need help."

"The others? You mean Shiki and her friends?" I guessed.

"That's right. They all found their Game partners, and Shiki is over fighting in the other Traverse Town. In fact, Sora and Shadow are helping them out," he told us.

"Good to hear," Riku nodded. "So what can we do?"

"Actually, the Dream Eater just reappeared in the fountain plaza. I sent Beat and his partner to face it," Joshua answered.

"We're on it," I said, and we started to leave, but paused when the slighter silverette called after us.

"Riku. Kurai," he called. "There's something else you need to know."

"Hmm?" my partner uttered.

"These two Traverse Towns separated by the Portal…I was under the impression they were parallel worlds, but it looks like I was wrong," he explained.

"Wrong how?" I questioned, tilting my head to the side in confusion.

"That's where it gets tricky," he admitted. "After you two and Sora and Shadow left, Shiki crossed the Portal to join her Game partner. Did you notice Game players have a mission timer inscribed on their hands? Well, when she got to the other side, Shiki had more time left on her clock than her partner. And when Beat's partner crossed over from the other side, she had LESS time left."

"So time flows differently here and there?" Riku assumed. "So what? That's true of any two worlds. Their home world would be running on a different time axis, too."

"Yes, I understand that. But if these Traverse Towns were parallel worlds, then time would flow the same in both," Joshua said. "But it doesn't, ergo they are not parallel worlds."

"You mean there's a past…and a future," I stated.

"No. Impossible," Joshua shook his head. "The worlds are clearly separate—it's not just time that sets them apart. As you yourselves noted, every world flows at its own pace, which tells me for all their similarities, these are two distinct worlds."

"Distinct worlds?" Riku repeated, puzzled.

"Yes…but this is all conjecture," the slighter silverette shrugged. "It's like the same world imagined by two people. What does that tell you? That we're in…"

"A dream…" I finished.

"Yes. Bravo again, Riku and Kurai," Joshua praised. "In which case none of this may matter one bit to me or my friends. But to you two and Sora and Shadow, I think it might be a vital clue."

"Right…Thanks. So you need us in the plaza?" Riku said.

"Wow. I'm running out of 'bravos'," the slighter male smirked.

"Be right back," I grinned. Riku and I fought our way to the Fourth District, where we spotted Beat and his partner, a younger blonde girl, fighting the Nightmare, called Spellican.

"Beat!" Riku called out.

"About time, yo!" the older blonde snorted.

"Beat, what happened to your Dream Eaters?" I asked.

"Don't need 'em when I got my Game partner," Beat snapped. "And I don't need you!"

"Oh, here we go again," the girl grumbled. "Five seconds ago, it was 'Where're Riku and Kurai'—and now the act?"

"Bwaah! Don't tell him that!" Beat wailed as the small blonde girl giggled.

"It's so nice to meet you both. I'm Rhyme," the girl greeted. "Riku and Kurai, right? Sorry my partner's acting like such a doofus." Riku dispelled his Keyblade, and the glow from my claws dimmed.

"I am not!" Beat argued. "You always gotta go around and…garnish my reputation!"

"Since when?" Rhyme scoffed. "You burned that bridge all by yourself. 'Nobody raises his reputation by lowering others.'" Riku and I laughed.

"Yo, Riku, Kurai," Beat whined. "You gonna sit there and let her get in my grill?"

"Sorry, it's just…you two are cut from the same cloth," Riku chuckled. I grinned at my partner's remark because it was completely true!

"I know!" Rhyme laughed as the Spellican twitched.

"I ain't made of cloth!" the older blonde protested as she spoke. I laughed loudly at their little spat.

"Beat looks and talks like a punk, but there's a heart of gold in there somewhere," Rhyme told us fondly. The Spellican twitched again…

"Yeah," I agreed. "He's come through for us, so we know what you mean." And again…

"There, see? I'm a—" Beat started say as Spellican twitched yet again, but then he realized what she had said. "Rhyme! You didn't just call me a punk again!" When we laughed, however, the sounds sent Spellican into a fit of rage.

"All right, now we ruffled its feathers," Riku chuckled, summoning his Keyblade and hence causing my claws to glow. "Ready to do this?"

"Yeah!" they agreed, but then Spellican summoned a group of Dream Eaters, and then flew off towards First District on its broomstick.

"Me and Rhyme'll handle things here," Beat told us.

"You go after that thing!" Rhyme added.

"Right!" I growled, and Riku and I ran off after it. We chased it into the Back Streets, where it summoned a herd of Cera Terror Dream Eaters. The herd charged down the alley towards us. In response, I shifted into a larger form of myself, snarling.

"Quantity versus quality, huh?" Riku scoffed. We attacked skillfully, fighting against the Cera Terrors with ease. Once they were all gone, Joshua appeared on an upper ledge with the Portal.

"Riku, Kurai, the Third District! We're going to pin it between both worlds!" he called to us.

"Got it!" I nodded, and reverted to my smaller form before Joshua and the Portal vanished. The pair of us took off to the Third District, Riku using Flowmotion to leap from wall to wall as I glided along, my wings spread wide. We soon caught up to Spellican and stopped in front of it.

"We got you now!" Riku declared. Beat and Rhyme ran in from an upper area.

"This is my street, yo!" Beat yelled.

"You gotta play by the rules," Rhyme chimed in. But when she said that, Spellican vanished through the Portal.

"Oh no!" Beat yelped.

"Hey!" Rhyme shouted. Riku dispelled his Keyblade, and the light in my claws dimmed.

"Sora, Shadow, you got this," Riku and I murmured. Later on, Beat, Rhyme, Riku, and I stood in the Third District as Joshua watched us.

"This is so tired, yo," Beat grumbled. "Every time we chase him down…"

"We know. But we've got a pair of allies on the other side," I pointed out calmly. "Don't worry."

"Yeah, well, I still don't like it," the older blonde complained. Joshua stepped off of the high roof and swiftly floated to the ground.

"You know, you are such a good listener, Beat. You're like a sponge, really," the slighter silverette stated sarcastically.

"Me? I'm not a sponge. I'm just me," Beat said, and made a fist, causing Rhyme to laugh.

"You mean 'Daisukenojo Bito'?" Joshua smirked.

"Hey! Don't use my full name!" the blonde whined, flinching.

"That's a weird name," Riku remarked.

"Hey!" Beat protested. Rhyme laughed at her partner's reaction, which set off Riku and me laughing, too. Then the Keyhole appeared.

"Well, it's time to go," I murmured as Riku walked towards the Keyhole with me on his shoulder.

"Hey, Riku, Kurai—thanks," Rhyme told us gratefully.

"Yeah, stay cool. We'll catch up with you two soon," her partner grinned as he gave us a thumbs-up.

"Mm-hmm. Say hi to Sora and Shadow," the small blonde added with a wave. We waved back to assure her we would.

"Sure," Riku nodded.

"Riku. Kurai. Remember what I said," Joshua reminded us. "Be careful. If this really is a dream, it's going to lie to you to try and make you think it's real."

"We got it," I assured him.

"What? I don't got it," Beat said, bewildered.

"You, Sora, and Shadow would break your heads on this one," Joshua stated.

"Bwaah?" Beat yelped. We all laughed as Riku and I sealed the Keyhole, and then moved on to the next world.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Now to move on! So sorry about the delay! And this one's short because that's how the script was. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story

Chapter 6

Riku and I arrived in a world where we were standing in the courtyard of an opera house. I growled when I spotted Pete skulking around the entrance, and pointed so Riku could see him.

"Isn't that…Pete?" the silverette asked me. I nodded. "What kind of world did we end up in this time? Well, one thing's for sure—that guy adds up to trouble in any world." I growled and nodded in agreement. We made our way into the opera house and walked onto the theatre stage, where a set for a large pirate ship was set up.

"What's all this for?" I wondered quietly. Riku shrugged slightly, jostling me a bit, and I scowled before settling myself again. I then noticed three shadowy figures each carrying wooden cutouts of Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

"Is that supposed to be Mickey and the others?" Riku asked me as I leaned forward a bit so I could see better. "Yeesh. Those three are together even when they're made out of wood." The guys placed the wooden figures on the stage, chuckled evilly, and then left. I then growled lowly when I noticed Pete standing aboard the pirate ship.

"Pete!" I warned, and Riku looked at him with a glare. Pete smirked and looked up at a hanging piece of scaffolding, where a large crate fell onto the wooden cutouts, smashing them and itself into pieces. Riku and I gasped quietly as Pete laughed evilly. We then noticed the guys from before leaving, so we proceeded to follow them.

"Wait!" Riku yelled after them. Once backstage, we saw the chest moving like someone or something was inside.

"Is someone…" I trailed off, but Riku knew what I meant. The silverette summoned his Keyblade and opened the chest, revealing Princess Minnie.

"Minnie!" Riku gasped, and we helped her out of the chest.

"Oh, thank you for saving me!" she said gratefully, and then started to walk off.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I have to help the Musketeers," she answered simply.

"What happened? Tell us what we can do," Riku questioned. She paused and looked at us.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"He's Riku, and I'm Kurai. Mickey's our friend," I told her.

"Oh, Riku, Kurai, the stage has been rigged with a machine to lure Mickey and the others into a terrible trap," she replied in distress. "If only we could find something to control the device from here…" I tapped Riku's shoulder with my tail as I happened to notice the third Beagle Boy from earlier behind Minnie take a knob from the wall.

"Lucky I remembered," he said to himself. "Look what I nearly forgot!" He turned to see the three of us glaring at him. "Eh? Why's the box san's mouse?"

"Oi, quit messin' around," the first Beagle Boy shouted from further inside.

"The boss is losin' his patience!" the second added as they joined him. The short one looked back to the princess and the other two followed his gaze.

"There it is! That's the gadget we need to retrieve!" Minnie declared.

"We're on it," Riku told her determinedly. We took off after the three as they attempted to flee for their miserable lives.

"Run for it!" they wailed, and took off. We followed them, searching through the opera house and hunting each one down until we reclaimed the stage gadget. Riku and I soon returned to the backstage area, but as we approached the mechanism to put the stage gadget into, we were suddenly tripped by a Holey Moley Dream Eater. I flew forward, landing hard on my feet, whereas Riku fell pretty much flat on his face. He stood and we looked about, but saw nothing. A sudden tap on Riku's shoulder and my back made him look again and my head whip about angrily as I searched for it, but still no sign of it. We finally spotted it sticking out of the wall on the far side of the room. My partner summoned his Keyblade, causing my claws to glow.

"They just never want to make this easy, do they?" I sighed. We fought and defeated the Holey Moley with a bit of difficulty, but nothing major. Soon after, Minnie came backstage and found us.

"Riku, Kurai, hurry! The machine!" she warned. We quickly ran over and inserted the stage gadget, turning it until it stopped.

"How do you like that?" Riku stated tauntingly. The gears on the wall spun, and then we heard Pete's outraged voice from the stage.

"Impossible!" he cried out.

"Looks like we were right in the nick of time…Sora and Shadow," we smirked, looking at each other.

"They're safe. Oh, thank goodness," Minnie sighed. "You truly saved the day, Riku and Kurai. I see you're as brave as a Royal Musketeer."

"'Musketeer'? What is that, anyway?" I asked curiously. The princess cupped her hand to whisper, and Riku bent down so we could hear her.

"They…They actually say that?" Riku questioned in surprise.

"Of course," Minnie confirmed. "Every Musketeer is taught those words. It's a very important motto and solemn pledge."

"You're right. And it does fit the moment," I agreed. Riku raised his Keyblade and I raised my tail.

"All for one…and one for all," we murmured. We then accessed the next Keyhole and sealed it before leaving for the next world.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: We're nearing the end, folks! Two more chapters to go, so this on and the final chapter, and then I'll have to wait for KH3. *SOB* Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story

Chapter 7

Riku and I were walking in the next world into the Mysterious Tower, where a torrent of water was flowing down the stairs.

"A flood?" Riku murmured.

"Strange…It's coming from upstairs," I told him, and we ran up the stairs into Yen Sid's chamber, which was filling up with gallons of water. Riku noticed someone in the chair.

"Mickey!" he gasped. Mickey looked like he was in a trance, his fingers dancing in the air, a dark aura emanating from him. I noticed an enchanted music stand, and directed Riku over to it.

"It's this musical score," I said. "It has him trapped." Riku nodded and pulled out his Keyblade, getting ready to strike it.

"You won't be able to defeat that darkness with brute force," Mickey's voice said, and it seemed like it was coming from the room itself. "I'm Mickey, the sorcerer's apprentice. Who are you?" We walked over to Mickey, who hadn't moved other than waving his arms about. Riku and I looked about, unsure of where to look exactly.

"Riku, and this is Kurai," the silverette answered, dispelling his weapon.

"If brute force won't work, tell us what will," I said, the tip of my tail flicking.

"Do ya really mean you're gonna try and help me?" the mouse asked.

"Yes," we nodded.

"Gosh, Riku and Kurai, something tells me you and I are gonna be good friends, and we'll help each other out a lot someday," Mickey told us happily. A second music stand, this one with swirling blue notes, appeared. "Inside this music is a Sound Idea powerful enough to dispel the darkness. Can ya find it?"

"We'll try. Leave it to us," Riku assured him. We then entered the musical realm by using Riku's Keyblade and my light. We trekked through moonlit woods, golden, an autumn-colored forest, and finally, gleaming snow until we found the Sound Idea. It floated over to us, and we took it. Suddenly, the world turned black, and Riku and I found ourselves near a bald mountain. Spirits of the dead swirled around the rocky peak. The silverette and I flew to the summit, where we discovered the silver-haired youth from before waiting near the edge of the volcano. He smiled as we landed nearby.

"You waiting for us?" I asked, my tone unimpressed.

"Yes. The boy and dragon chosen by the Keyblade and light—Riku and Kurai," he stated.

"What?" Riku uttered, confused.

"They were yours first, weren't they?" the boy asked. "But you both succumbed to the darkness you could not control, and your prizes—the Keyblade and light—passed on to Sora and Shadow instead. Your mistakes always end up being other people's problems."

"Maybe so. But we're here to change all of that," I disagreed.

"Once again you two performed predictably, although on a grander scale than I imagined," the youth said.

"If you're feeling so chatty, let's skip to where you reveal what this is all about," Riku stated, narrowing his eyes slightly. The silver-haired boy looked at us with unflinching eyes as a burst of flames erupted from the crater behind him.

"I don't know how you did it, but you really have found a way to trap darkness inside your hearts. And a boy and his pet who are immune to darkness are of no use to us," he stated coldly. I curled my lip at the "pet" comment.

"Well, there's some good news," I said sarcastically.

"Your abyss awaits," the youth told us suddenly, and then the volcano erupted.

The young man vanished as smoke filled the area, and the great demon Chernabog emerged from the depths of the mountain, black as night with a pair of enormous wings. It roared furiously, baring its fangs and Riku and me, the sulfur stench nearly making me gag and burning my nostrils. The silverette and I sent a spinning tackle into the beast, which roared again and sent us flying back across the valley. Pillars of flames erupted from the river of lava below, but we dodged them with ease. Unfortunately, the Chernabog sent spirits of the dead after us, which latched onto Riku and me, draining our strength. We continued to fly towards the evil god, managing to spin in midair and knock the spirits off. We neared the Chernabog again, and then mustered up all of our strength, dealing a final strike to the beast's heart. Once it was finished, Riku and I returned to the chamber.

"Thank you, Riku and Kurai," Mickey told us gratefully. "Say, can we try out that Sound Idea?"

The silverette nodded, and we released the Sound Idea, letting it float into the air. Summoning his Keyblade, Riku waved it around as though he were conducting, and I copied him using my tail. Music score swirled out in all directions, but there was no change in the enchanted music stand. Out of nowhere, however, a second Sound Idea appeared, and the two danced in the air, sending their musical score in all directions as we conducted. Beautiful music filled the room.

When it was over, Riku and I looked about and saw the flood was gone. Mickey woke up, looked himself over, and then looked at us.

"That was amazing! What happened?" the mouse asked.

"Sora and Shadow," the silverette and I said simply.

"Sora and Shadow? Funny…Just hearing those names makes me wanna smile," Mickey told us.

"Yeah. That's how they are," Riku chuckled.

"Whaddya know…Riku, Kurai, Sora, and Shadow," Mickey said. "The Sound Ideas you four set free joined together. And when they did, they made a great and powerful harmony." Riku and I nodded.

"They can find the brightest part of anything, and pull off miracles like there's nothing to it. It's pretty hard to not smile around them," I grinned.

"Wow! No wonder the music sounded like so much fun," Mickey remarked. "But I bet they've got you two to thank for that. Having such good friends means they could really enjoy it."

"Huh?" we uttered.

"It's like each of you is holding on to a little part of the other," the mouse told us. "Your hearts are always in tune, so they're free to sing. Gosh, I hope I can be part of the team someday." Mickey and Riku shook hands.

"You will. Trust us," we assured him, and the mouse giggled. Once Mickey was gone, the Keyhole appeared and the silverette and I sealed it.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Final chapter, guys! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow, Kurai, Night, & Kesshi.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Kurai's Story

Chapter 8

Riku and I ended up in a synthetic-looking castle when we landed in the next world, and I looked about warily from his shoulder.

"Where are we now?" he wondered aloud. We looked up to see various broken panels on the wall.

"Why are we here?" I questioned to no one in particular. "We unlocked all seven Keyholes—so we should be back in the world we came from." Riku shrugged, nearly making me fall of his shoulder, and we made our way through the castle until we reached a place called, "The Verge of Chaos".

"Is that…Sora and Shadow?" Riku said, and I looked to where his gaze was settled, and I gasped. There was a spectral image of Sora and Shadow floating comatose inside a bubble surrounded by a swirl of darkness. We ran over to our friends in a panic.

"Sora! Shadow!" we shouted. Peering into the bubble, we saw images of ourselves and Kairi walking away, and another of Pluto running through Traverse Town. We grabbed Sora's and Shadow's hands and began pulling at them.

"Sora! Shadow! Don't! You've gotta wake up! Sora, Shadow!" we cried out. Their images ceased to move, and the swirl of darkness around the bubble flew out and formed into a hooded figure with glowing red eyes. Riku scowled at it as I bristled furiously.

"Are you what's trapping them in that nightmare?" the silverette demanded, readying his Keyblade. The symbol from Riku's back formed on the figure, but with slight differences.

"'Cause if you are…we're what nightmares fear!" I snarled. The figure teleported away, sending bolts of darkness at us, but I fended it off with a thin light shield as Riku blocked with his Keyblade. It tried to trap us in a red barrier, but Riku and I dodge-rolled away before it could catch us. This process repeated itself until the grueling battle was over. When the figure was defeated, its eyes dimmed and it faded away. The two of us quickly ran back over to Sora's and Shadow's images.

"Sora, Shadow, don't chase the dreams," we pleaded. "They'll lead you nowhere, just to an abyss you'll never be able to wake up from." The image of our friends dissolved into an image of Memory's Skyscraper, the Dark City appearing and disappearing around him.

"What? What's going on in Sora and Shadow's world?" I growled. "Why won't they open their eyes? Are they still in the nightmare?"

"That is right," an oh-so-familiar voice said.

"Ansem!" we gasped, turning to face him.

"Sora and Shadow can no longer wake up," he told us. "No matter how many nightmares you consume, you cannot wake someone who has fallen into the chasm of dreams."

"What?"

"Dreams hold our memories. Sleep holds our dreams. And darkness—it holds our sleep. Sora's and Shadow's hearts belong to the darkness now," he explained.

"Sora and Shadow would never give in too the darkness!" I hissed, shaking angrily.

"But you feel it, don't you? This world, the nightmare, the abyss. Why haven't you returned to the reality whence you came?"

"No. This is a…" Riku started to say.

"Dream of a dream. A twofold nightmare. This whole journey, you have been inside Sora and Shadow's dreams. And now darkness within darkness awaits you." I felt Riku's foot drop, and we looked down in horror to see he was starting to sink into a pool of darkness.

"What?!" I yelped as Riku struggled to pull his leg up.

"No. I can't get loose!" the silverette growled. He and I cried out as we sank into the darkness, grasping at anything to help us out, but we still fell through. In the endless abyss, Riku and my consciousness resonated with Ansem's.

"At the start of your test, when you two struck out from that tiny island, you saw me there dressed in a robe. Immediately you knew something was wrong, so without even knowing it, you dove into Sora and Shadow's dream. And you became exactly what that sigil on your back represents—a Dream Eater to protect Sora and Shadow from nightmares," he told us.

"Us? We're Dream Eaters?" I questioned doubtfully.

"Correct. But you failed to protect them. After all your efforts to command the darkness and protect those you cherish, it is a shame you locked that power away in the end."

"Except…it's not over. We can still save Sora and Shadow," we said, our expressions determined. Ansem's orange eyes glinted.

"So you understand what to do. Set the darkness in you free, and you can rescue your friends." He held his hand out to us.

"Ansem. Or…Xehanort," Riku began. "You used to be a Keyblade wielder. But darkness stole your heart, and the Keyblade with it. Don't you see? That's half the reason we're even on this journey." We placed one hand over our hearts.

"After allowing darkness into our hearts, are we still fit to wield the Keyblade and light?" I asked rhetorically. "Even after locking you away, here you are, haunting us again. So we get it now. There's no point in trying to hold the darkness back."

"At last, you see clearly," Ansem remarked.

"You know…when we look at you…there's this memory that flashes back," my partner said. "A secret we said we'd keep when I was little. The main reason I kept dreaming about seeing the outside world…was 'cause of him." Something changed in Ansem's eyes at Riku's words.

"Our journey begins here, and now," I growled. Riku summoned his Keyblade, and my claws glowed.

"We're going back to the real world, and then to Sora's and Shadow's sides," we declared in unison. Ansem dropped his hand.

"That…is your answer?"

"Yes. We know the way. Consume the darkness, and return it to light," we replied. Ansem folded his arms and summoned his dark Guardian. We fought him, defeating him with some aid from Dream Eater Spirits, and then he descended to the ground, which was lined with dark tendrils.

"Ansem! You're part of our hearts now. Part of the light!" we shouted. Darkness crept up behind Ansem.

"Ever the fools, boy and dragon. And forever pawns of the darkness!" the grey-haired man retorted, and folded his arms again as the dark vines encased him in an orb.

The Guardian appeared above it, this time in a larger form and allowing wings to protrude from the sides of the orb. The dark being stretched its arms out to the sides, gathering energy and firing it at us. Riku and I dodge-rolled and then rushed at the orb. The Guardian sent a flurry of punches at us from above, which I blocked at Riku struck at the orb.

Suddenly, the world lurched and we found ourselves far away from Ansem, who sent several flying disks at us. We seized the opportunity and jumped-kicked off of one of the side walls, using Flowmotion to fly to the next wall. Kicking off of that one as well, we dodged each shot of energy from the Guardian, gaining speed and force with each kick. Finally, we kicked off another wall, heading straight for the orb. We forced ourselves into a spin, using our centers of gravity to focus our attacks into Riku's Keyblade and my outstretched claws. Riku shot through, piercing the orb first and I followed a split second after. The Guardian stared down at us, outstretching its hand as we stood in a defensive stance before it. After a moment, the dark entity lowered its hand before dissipating. The silverette and I sighed in relief.

"Strength, to protect what matters," we murmured, closing our eyes.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

When we opened our eyes, we found we were at Memory's Skyscraper.

"This place…did we finally make it out of the dream?" Riku wondered aloud as I shrugged. "Sora, Shadow, and the two of us have been split up from the start of our journey, because Ansem—no, because Xehanort planned it. And that means…we're a long way off course from the Mark of Mastery exam Yen Sid gave us." We looked about.

"All right. Sora and Shadow have gotta be here somewhere," I said determinedly. We walked to the end of a large chasm, where the city stopped.

"End of the road, huh?" Riku sighed. We gazed at an enormous floating castle ahead of us.

"I know we're back in the real world, but we still have our Dream Eater powers," I remarked. "Which means…they still haven't woken up. Where are you, Sora and Shadow?" There was a quiet meow, and we gasped scanning our eyes for the source. Riku cupped his hand to his ear and listened as I leaned closer to the castle's direction, and we heard a small whimper. Staring at the castle, we saw a Meow Wow rolling around on a platform there.

"A Dream Eater! Is that where Sora and Shadow are?" the silverette questioned. We looked at the gap between the edge and the castle.

"I know how I will, but how are you supposed to get across?" I asked, opening my wings slightly. Komory Bat appeared and landed on Riku's other shoulder, chirping. He looked ahead to Meow Wow, and we understood.

"Right. We get it," Riku nodded. He gently petted the Komory Bat, who shivered happily. We summoned a bridge of light, and then crossed it, entering a room of white with white thrones. Looking down over the center platform, we gasped in horror.

"Sora! Shadow!" we cried out. Jumping down, we ran to our friends, but were stopped by the sudden appearance of the cloaked youth from before, who blew us back with a wave of his fingers. Landing with a pained cry, we glared at him.

"Hands off my new vessels," he snapped.

"'Vessel'?" I repeated, confused.

"Yes. We originally had our sights set on you two. But, you both developed a certain…resistance to darkness. So we did what the Keyblade did, and moved down the list," he said as Riku and I slowly stood. I remained on the floor, ready to fight if necessary. "Roxas and Night…now there was a pair of worthy candidates. But, unfortunately, they became too aware of themselves, and returned to Sora and Shadow. Organization XIII's true goal is to divide Xehanort's heart among thirteen vessels. Thanks to you two and Sora and Shadow, we learned not all our candidates were fit for the task. But, we managed to make up the difference. And now, Sora and Shadow, the thirteenth vessels, are within our grasp."

"Thirteen…Xehanorts?" Riku said, comprehending the situation. We looked up, gasping in horror as the rest of the seats were filled with hooded figures.

"What is…" I began to ask.

"The real Organization XIII," the young man said simply.

"The Organization?" we repeated.

"I am Xehanort from the most distant past. My future self gave me a task—to visit the splintered versions of myself in many worlds, and ensure they gathered here today," he explained.

"From the past?" Riku gaped.

"There are restrictions to movement through time," the young Xehanort told us. "First, you must leave your body behind to do it. Then, there must be a version of you waiting at the destination. Upon arrival, you can only move forward as per the laws of time. And you cannot rewrite the events that are destined to happen."

"What have you done?" my partner demanded as I bristled with fury.

"My most future self will arrive soon. Then, time for all of us will return to normal…" He raised his hand up to the highest throne, where a smoky figure was slowly forming. "…and I will go back to my era to live the life fate has in store. He can vouch for that." Out of nowhere, a light twinkled from above and shot down to where Xehanort stood, knocking him back. A familiar figure appeared in the light, holding a Keyblade.

"Stopza!" Mickey cried out, and a large burst of energy filled the room, and Xehanort's body froze in midair. Riku opened his eyes as I made a pleased sound.

"I'm glad I'm not too late," the mouse said.

"Mickey!" the silverette gasped.

"Just grab Sora and Shadow so we can go! I can't stop them for long," he ordered. Riku and I looked up, seeing that the rest of the Organization was also frozen, including the figure forming the darkness.

"Okay!" we nodded, but then Mickey was struck from behind and sent flying across the room. "Mickey!" The king landed on the floor, dropping his Keyblade, and the time spell on the room began to waver.

"I said, hands off!" young Xehanort snapped.

"How can you be moving?" I growled, but he merely summoned his Keyblade.

"Oh no. Are you…" Mickey began to say from where he lay. Xehanort's eyes glowed with fury as he gave off a dark aura.

"Begone," he said coldly, and the room transformed into a place beyond time and space. Riku and I faced Xehanort, the silverette summoning his Keyblade, hence making my claws glow. I shook with the hatred for this young fool before us, and bared my fangs at him.

Xehanort teleported close and we swung at him, but the youth teleported elsewhere. He swung his Keyblade, releasing a wave of dark energy, and we were barely able to dodge it by leaping onto a tall pole in the center of the room and spinning on it with Flowmotion. We spun on the pole, gaining momentum, and then aimed for Xehanort, who sent a multitude of energy bolts at us. I created a light shield to deflect them as we shot at him, but right before we could strike Xehanort, he stopped us.

"Time stop!" he shouted.

Riku and I were frozen in midair for a second, and then Xehanort teleported again, and a large clock appeared behind him when he reappeared. The silverette and I ran over to Xehanort, striking the clock with five blows. Xehanort flinched and the world wavered, and the clock began spinning backwards, each tick ringing in our ears. Xehanort summoned ethereal blades and knocked us harshly away from the clock while teleporting madly. Riku and I desperately tried to reach the clock, but Xehanort's attacks were so frequent and powerful that we couldn't, and the clock reached twelve.

"You shall wander forever!" the youth yelled.

The clock spun wildly and the world rewound. Riku and I faced Xehanort, Keyblade bared, and I noticed that the young man's injuries seemed to have healed. I silently pointed it out to Riku, and he nodded minutely. We dove at him, exchanging blows again, but Riku and I were struggling to keep up with Xehanort's continuous teleportation and unceasing energy bolts. After a bit of this, Xehanort stopped time and summoned the clock again, which began to count down once more. The silverette and I took the opportunity to dash over to the pole again, spinning around and steadily making our way up the beam. Xehanort sent more energy bolts at us, which I made ricochet back with a light shield, causing our opponent to flinch. When we gained enough height on the beam, we kicked off using Flowmotion and shattered the clock when it was about to reach twelve. Once the fight was over, the world dissolved back to the Round Room.

"Are you okay, Riku and Kurai?" Mickey asked us.

"Yeah. Thanks, Mickey," Riku thanked him. The time spell on the room vanished, and Mickey glared up at the highest throne.

"Master Xehanort! We were right about you!" the mouse snapped. Riku and I looked up to see an old man on the highest throne.

"All of this was decided," Master Xehanort said calmly. "My twelve selves would welcome me here on this day, when I would return a complete person. It is the future which lies beyond my sight."

"Why are you doing this?" Mickey demanded.

"In ancient times, people believed that light was a gift from an unseen land by the name of Kingdom Hearts," the old man began. "But Kingdom Hearts was safeguarded by its counterpart, the X-blade. Warriors vied for that precious light, thus beginning the 'Keyblade War.' The violent clash shattered the X-blade into twenty pieces—seven of light, and thirteen of darkness. And the only real Kingdom Hearts was swallowed by the darkness, never to surface again. I once tried to create my own pure lights and darkness to forge the X-blade, but the attempt ended in failure. In my eagerness, I had lost sight of the correct way to achieve my goal. I acted rashly. I can admit that now." He smirked.

"What you did back then—your mistakes—changed the destinies of four of my friends!" Mickey shouted furiously.

"Ah, but destiny is never left to chance," Xehanort argued. "I merely guided them to their proper places. The broken boy and dragon who failed to be the blade…the misguided master who sacrificed herself for a friend…and the feckless youth who became my new vessel."

"I couldn't find a way to save 'em," Mickey murmured sadly. "But I wanted to believe that their sacrifice stopped you for good. Why? How was I so blind? I should've seen it, as soon as Maleficent started gathering the seven princesses of heart."

"Yes. They were all my doing. I used the evil fairy to find the seven pure lights for me, just as I prepared thirteen vessels to fill with pure darkness," the old man told us.

"But you failed. Sora and Shadow stopped you in your tracks on both accounts," Riku said.

"Yes, they did. That dull, ordinary boy and his dragon—Keyblade and light wielders so unlike any I have ever seen," Xehanort agreed. "However, I have not abandoned my ambitions—the seven guardians of light and the thirteen seekers of darkness." He chuckled evilly.

"Seven guardians of light?" Mickey said curiously. "Well, for Keyblade wielders, there's me and Riku and Sora. And my three missing friends, that's six. Then with light wielders, there's Kurai, Shadow, and my fourth missing friend. Then the seventh would be…" He gasped, looking about at the thrones. "That means…the thirteen seekers of darkness…"

"Yes, little king. Perceptive," Master Xehanort grinned. "But Sora, Shadow, and another two on your list belong to me now. And that puts you five guardians short. But worry not. All of the pieces are destined to appear. Your seven lights just like my thirteen darknesses, whose final clash will beget the prize I seek—"

"The X-blade!" Xehanort and Mickey said at once. Then the old man stood on his throne and summoned his Keyblade.

"But first, the thirteen darknesses shall be united," he declared. "All the seats have been filled. And now the last vessels shall bear my heart like the rest!" He waved his hand and the throne Sora and Shadow sat upon rose higher.

"No!" Mickey cried out.

"Sora!" Riku shouted.

"Shadow!" I screeched desperately.

We all ran to our friends. Mickey jumped, using the other thrones to reach them, but Xemnas slammed the mouse king against one of them as Riku and I were knocked to the ground by Ansem. Sora and Shadow's throne reached Master Xehanort's height and the old man laughed quietly. Holding up his Keyblade, he waved his hand over it, making it pulse with a red energy, and he held it up high. With a swift motion, he pointed it at Sora and Shadow, and I struggled fearfully. Shadow can't become evil, he _can't_! Mickey and Riku watched helplessly as a glowing heart sped towards our friends from the end of Xehanort's Keyblade. Right before it could reach them, however, there was an explosion of fire.

"He made it!" Mickey sighed in relief. _Who?_ I wondered mentally.

"You!" Xemnas gasped. When the flurry of flames died down, Axel stood on the throne, a lifeless Sora and Shadow under one arm, and his chakrams in the other.

"Axel!" Xigbar growled.

"Axel? Please. The name's Lea. Got it memorized?" the redhead snorted.

"You're not supposed to be here!" the eye-patch-wearing man shouted.

"Promises to keep. I'll always be there to get my friends back. What, bad timing?" Lea shrugged, his tone sarcastic. He then looked at Master Xehanort. "You had your perfect little script, but you kinda forgot to write the sequel. Now, let's find out what happens!" Xigbar slammed his fist on the arm of his throne.

"What now, you old coot? Our time is up!" he shouted at the old man. Master Xehanort merely smiled and a still-hooded member of the Organization leapt from their throne, bearing a claymore and going straight for Lea. Lea quickly blocked with one chakram, and the force of the blow knocked the member's hood back, revealing blue hair.

"Isa!" Lea growled. Saix stared at him with cold yellow eyes as he increased the pressure he was putting on his claymore. The redhead was forced to jump back, though, as he couldn't keep balance and counter Saix's attack. Using the distraction, Mickey summoned his Keyblade, but Xemnas teleported away before the mouse could strike at him. Riku dispelled his Keyblade, and then re-summoned it backwards in his hand, but Ansem teleported away as well before we could slash at him. They reappeared by Master Xehanort, looking down on us from where they hovered. Mickey, Lea, Riku, and I stood on the platform below, the other three with their weapons ready, and me with my claws out and fangs bared.

"Why are you here, Axel?" Riku asked, and I mentally facepalmed. _He already said he's not Axel anymore…_ I thought to myself.

"No, I told you my name's—Agh, whatever, Axel, fine. Now let's get outta here!" Lea snapped.

"Right!" Mickey nodded. Suddenly, Ansem summoned his Guardian, who rushed down and grabbed Mickey, Riku, and me as Lea jumped back, avoiding the grab. Struggling, Riku and I paused briefly when we heard a strange, yet familiar, sound. A shooting star zigzagged in from the top of the room, and there was screaming as it flew in. Out of nowhere, Donald and Goofy appeared from the star, landing on the Guardian, making it disappear and drop the three of us. Donald and Goofy lay on the floor, dazed.

"Were we supposed to do that?" Donald wondered aloud.

"I think so," Goofy said. Riku and I laughed lightly, unable to resist.

"Goofy, Donald! You saved us!" Mickey cheered. Ansem, Xemnas, and the rest of the Organization began to fade away.

"We are out of time. Neither the union of light or darkness has been achieved, and we must all return whence we came. But, the gathering of the seven and thirteen is nigh," Master Xehanort declared. Young Xehanort and Riku and I exchanged stares, as did Saix and Lea. "Let us finish this at the fated place, once your lights and my darknesses have joined together!" He faded, and the rest of the Organization scattered.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

When we returned to the Mysterious Tower, Lea leaned against a shelf as Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Riku, and I surrounded Sora and Shadow, who were both still comatose. We had them propped up against a wall to keep them semi-comfortable, I guess you could say. Donald and Goofy were speechless as Riku and I kneeled next to our friends.

"Seven lights, thirteen darknesses…Master Xehanort has been busy," Yen Sid murmured.

"Aw, Sora and Shadow. Don't tell me your hearts are sleeping, too," Mickey sighed.

"No, Mickey. This affliction is not the same," the master told him. We looked at him as he sat in his chair, his back to us.

"Can we do anything for them?" I asked.

"In your Mark of Mastery Exam, you were to unlock seven Sleeping Keyholes," Yen Sid began. "By doing so, you would awaken those worlds from their prison of slumber, and also acquire the power to free a heart from its sleep. Riku, Kurai, you unlocked those Keyholes within Sora and Shadow's dreams. Therefore, it stands to reason that you now have the power to awaken Sora's and Shadow's hearts."

"You want them to dive back into Sora and Shadow's sleep?" Mickey questioned doubtfully. "But Master, their hearts are down in the darkest abyss. If Riku and Kurai aren't careful, they might just get trapped down there with them. No…I'll go instead." Yen Sid got up from his chair and walked over.

"And perhaps you may even succeed, Mickey," he said. "But there is no denying Riku and Kurai stand the better chance, having dived into Sora's and Shadow hearts as long as they have." Mickey contemplated this as Donald and Goofy exchanged worried looks. Riku and I looked at Sora and Shadow respectively and smiled.

"Mickey…we really appreciate it. But…we'll go wake Sora and Shadow up," we told the mouse.

"Riku, Kurai," Mickey murmured. He held out his hand and we looked back to our best friends.

"Look at their faces," Riku and I remarked. "Sleeping like nothing's wrong—like there's nothing to even worry about. They've always been like that. The five of us would agree to work on the raft, and then these two guys would go and take a nap on the beach. You see, it's our job to keep them on their toes. Besides, what kind of Keyblade Master and light master sleeps through their test?" Mickey, Donald, and Goofy smiled.

"We're doing it for us, too," the silverette added. "Sora and Shadow saved us once. And…we heard them call our names. They need us."

"There's something real strong that binds us to each other," Mickey commented. "Even in the darkness, you can reach them. All you gotta do is follow that connection!"

"Gee, we're all connected to Sora and Shadow," Goofy smiled.

"You said it!" Donald agreed.

"And if the darkness gets ya, I promise I'll bail you out," Lea smirked. "'Dark Rescue' is my middle name." Riku and I stood up, and I crawled onto his shoulder.

"Guys, thank you," we told them. "We'll be back with Sora and Shadow soon." We bowed to Master Yen Sid, and the Riku summoned his Keyblade. Our light resonated with Sora's and Shadow's bodies, opening a Portal to the dark recesses of their hearts. Everyone nodded to us once more, and we entered the Portal.

We woke up at the bottom of the black abyss and stood, the darkness beneath Riku's feet rippling with every movement.

"This abyss…are we in Sora and Shadow's dream?" Riku wondered aloud. I wasn't certain, so I merely shrugged. All of a sudden, a pair of armored figures rose from the pool below, and the taller one raised its Keyblade, a Nightmare symbol emblazoned on their heads. "What?" Riku gasped, and I bristled angrily as I jumped down from his shoulder.

The world suddenly turned white and the armors became a cloud-like ink, as though all the darkness in the room was concentrated into that one shape. Riku and I dodged as the wisps of ink surged forward at us, delivering several blows to our backs before releasing back out into the abyss. We fought as hard as we could alongside our Spirits against the pair of swift foes, the smaller one mainly targeting me while the taller one focused on Riku. The two Nightmares easily dodged our attacks by turning into ink, but otherwise delivered swift blows on us.

After wearing it down somewhat, the taller armored Nightmare raised its blade while the smaller one raised its claws, and they each formed an orb of darkness. Riku and I held our stances before globs of darkness shot out from the orbs. The silverette and I merged with our Dream Eaters, warping space to send the globs back at the Nightmares. With our last shots, we teleported above them, and Riku delivered a powerful downward slice with his Keyblade as I slashed through the other with my claws, shattering the armors' helmets. With a flash, the armors burst, releasing Sora and Shadow onto the dark pool.

"Sora!" Riku gasped.

"Shadow!" I cried out at the same time. Our friends began to descend into the darkness, which was sinking into a platform marked with Sora's and Shadow's images. The pool began to shrink, leaving us by ourselves on the platform. We looked up to see the black Keyblade, which lost its cloak of darkness as well, returning to normal.

"We'll find you, Sora and Shadow," we murmured. The silverette took Sora's Keyblade in his hand, causing my claws to glow brighter than before, and a Keyhole appeared on the floor. Sighing in relief, we jumped into the air and fired a beam of light at the Keyhole, causing light to envelope everything.

Soon after, the familiar sound of waves reached our ears, and we opened our eyes to find ourselves on Destiny Islands at sunset. The light from the golden sun twinkled on the calm waters as Riku and I stood at the edge of the dock, gazing out at the sea. We turned, and were equally startled by the appearance of Roxas and Night.

"Roxas?" Riku said.

"Night?" I uttered.

"What is it that you're so afraid of?" they asked in unison.

"Huh? Hmm…Losing something that's important," we answered as one. Roxas's and Night's images faded, and we shrugged it off, walking to the beach. There, we saw someone like Roxas with a black and white armored dragon on his shoulder.

"Roxas?" Riku said curiously. I knew that wasn't Night with him, though, and when we got a closer look, I was right. That wasn't Roxas, nor was it Night.

"No, wait…" I started to say.

"What is the one thing you care about more than anything else?" they asked.

"Hmm…Our close friends," we replied. The boy and dragon faded away like Roxas and Night had.

"What is going on?" I wondered aloud. We looked to the tiny adjacent island connected by the bridge and gasped when we saw someone there.

"Sora! Shadow!" we called. We reached the bridge and ran across it, but it was only on figure there, and it wasn't Sora, but a girl with dark hair.

"Who are you?" Riku questioned.

"Riku. Kurai. What do you wish?" she asked us.

"More questions…All right…We wish…to recover something important that we lost," we told her. The world flashed, and we reappeared back on the beach. My eyes caught a glimpse of something in the water, and I hopped down, pulling out a bottle from the shoreline.

"What's this?" Riku said as I handed it to him, shrugging.

"You were not the visitors I expected," a familiar voice murmured, and we looked to see a tall man in a red robe walking towards us.

"DiZ! I mean…Ansem the Wise," I uttered. "What are you doing here?"

"Perhaps I wanted to atone for events of the past, even if no apology can undo the harm I have wrought," he began. "I felt…that I ought to leave something behind. So I digitized myself and my research, and hid them within Sora and Shadow."

"So this is…data?" Riku guessed.

"Yes. A clue, I hope, to finding yourselves or your lost friends in your hour of need," Ansem the Wise nodded. "The heart has always been quick to grow. Each exposure to light, to the natural world, to other people, shapes this most malleable part inside of us. Nobodies are not different from us in that manner. Sora and Shadow were the only ones able to return to their original forms without destroying their Nobodies. That is a statement to the love in their hearts for other people, and the bonds that tie them together. Perhaps…they have the power to bring back the hearts and existences of those connected to them—to recreate people we thought were lost to us forever. Our most precious treasures—even an empty puppet—the trees of the forest, the petals on the wind—there are hearts around us everywhere we look. And it does not take superhuman powers to see them. Surely we remember as children the way our hearts made everything seem so shiny, and perfect. Sora and Shadow have hearts like that—uncorrupted, willing to see the good before the bad. When they see the heart in something, it then becomes real. When a connection seems broken, they may have the power to mend it. The have touched countless hearts, they have accepted them, and they have saved them. And some of those hearts have never left him—whether they fell into darkness or were trapped there—whether they sleep in the darkness of Sora's and Shadow's hearts, or were welcomed into their warmth—they can be saved. All Sora and Shadow need to do is be themselves and follow wherever it is that their hearts take them. It is the best and the only way. The rest is in there." Riku and I looked at the bottle for a moment.

"All right. Thanks. Thank you," we smiled slightly.

"Of course. Now why is it that you two are here?" he asked.

"Uh…we kinda need to wake Sora and Shadow up," I admitted.

"Don't tell me they've gone to sleep again?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah. What'll we do with them?" Riku shrugged.

"What, indeed?" Ansem the Wise chuckled, and we laughed as well. "Never fear. Sora and Shadow are safe."

"Huh?"

"They're not here," he answered. "You see, by defeating the Nightmares imprisoning Sora and Shadow, you freed them."

"You mean…the Sora and Shadow wrapped in those black phantoms?" Riku questioned.

"Then, you both came here, and were questioned by five young people. That was the final key to awaken them. Sora and Shadow are awake. You can go home now," he assured us.

"Really? Thank you," I said gratefully. Riku pointed Sora's Keyblade across the water and a Keyhole appeared. We each shot a beam of light at it, and began to float into the air.

"Young men! I do not believe you ever told me your names," Ansem called to us, and we all three smiled.

"It's Riku," the silverette replied.

"Kurai," I added. Riku and I flew into the Keyhole.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

We woke up in Master Yen Sid's tower, surrounded by Mickey, Lea, and Yen Sid.

"Riku! Kurai!" Mickey gasped as our eyes opened. We sat up suddenly.

"Sora!" my partner called.

"Shadow!" I cried out. Behind us, Sora, Donald, and Goofy sat at a small table filled with desserts. Shadow seemed to be trying to ignore it.

"Hey, Donald! Come on, you're hogging it all!" Sora was snapping at Donald.

"Aw, come on, Sora, and drink your tea," the duck chided.

"Gawrsh, it sure is yummy!" Goofy chimed in.

"Hey!" we barked, and Sora and Shadow each looked up quickly at us. Sora, embarrassingly enough, was wearing a party hat and fake mustache glasses. The brunette quickly pulled them off and came over to greet the silverette as Shadow darted over to me.

"Riku…You're safe! Riku!" Sora crowed as he jumped his friend, laughing.

"Thank goodness you're all right," Shadow murmured, bumping foreheads with me as a friendly gesture.

"Wait, haven't we got this backwards?" Riku asked, bewildered.

"And why are you having a tea party?" I questioned with an amused expression.

"I had no part in that!" the black dragon huffed indignantly.

"You're safe, Riku!" Sora continued to say, and hugged Riku again.

"Ah, never mind. You okay? Feeling all right?" the silverette said.

"Yeah, we've never been better," they assured us as Shadow jumped back onto Sora's shoulder. "We were watching what was going on in our dream. And we could hear your voices the whole time. Thanks, Riku and Kurai. Thanks, everybody!" Everyone around us smiled happily.

"Oh yeah! Did we pass the test?" Sora asked suddenly. Yen Sid nodded.

"You performed truly admirably, all four of you," he told us. Sora and Riku picked themselves up off the floor, knocking a chair over, and stood before Yen Sid as I quickly climbed back onto Riku's shoulder.

"More than anything, I am grateful to have you four back from Xehanort's deception unharmed," he began. "And I am grateful to Lea, whose spontaneous actions turned the tides. I am also deeply sorry, for failing to perceive the danger and throwing you headlong into a perilous test. This experience has revealed many hidden truths, and we must gird ourselves for the great clash with darkness that lies before us. I believe we need a new Keyblade Master, one with a new kind of power. Sora and Shadow, Riku and Kurai, you all deserve the honor. However, two of you braved the realm of sleep again to unlock the final Keyhole and save a friend each. Riku and Kurai, I name you as our new true Keyblade and light Masters."

"Way to go, Riku!" Sora cheered excitedly, and placed a hand on Riku's shoulder that I wasn't on with a laugh.

"Awesome!" Shadow chimed in, grinning at me.

"Y-yeah?" we stuttered, stunned by this new information.

"We knew you two were gonna pass with flying colors," they told us. "This is just so awesome!"

"Gee, Sora and Shadow, you're kinda acting like it's you that passed," Goofy pointed out, smiling.

"I told ya Sora and Shadow still needed some practice," Donald muttered.

"Hey," Sora pouted.

"What the heck!" Shadow snapped, glaring.

"Really? I'm a Keyblade Master?" Riku murmured.

"And I'm a light master?" I added. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy walked over to the four of us.

"Congratulations, Riku and Kurai!" Mickey told us, and shook hands with us each.

"Thank you, Mickey," we replied gratefully. "We owe it to our friends." Sora and I laughed.

"Ah, I'll catch up with ya in no time flat," Lea grinned.

"What? You wanna be a Keyblade Master?" Shadow questioned doubtfully.

"Yeah. I mean, I came here to learn how to wield one," he shrugged.

"YOU?!" Sora, Riku, Shadow, and I yelped.

"Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence," the redhead stated, rolling his eyes. "You know, I was gonna come swooping in, Keyblade in hand! But I just couldn't get mine to materialize. Must be in the snap of the wrist or something." He held his hand out to try, and a fiery Keyblade flashed into his hand, surprising all of us, even him.

"WHOA!" we all gasped.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Later on, Sora and Shadow were walking out of the Mysterious Tower, being seen off by Riku, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and me.

"Do ya have to go?" Goofy asked.

"Well…we did doze off…We just have some stuff to take care of," Sora assured them.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Donald questioned.

"Yeah. We won't be long," my friend promised with a small smirk.

"Be careful," Mickey advised.

"Very careful," Riku and I added.

"Right. See you soon," we said. Sora summoned his Keyblade, causing Shadow's claws to glow, and they unlocked the Keyhole that appeared in the sky with a beam of light, disappearing into it.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

After Sora and Shadow had left, Riku and I were sent on a small task. When we returned, Mickey and Yen Sid were talking.

"Riku! Kurai! You're back!" Mickey greeted.

"That's right," I nodded.

"Master Yen Sid, we brought you the 'guest' you asked for but…you never said why," Riku told Yen Sid, and our "guest" entered.

"Huh? Wow!" Mickey gasped.

"I have come to learn that you, too, can wield a Keyblade. I am glad you are here," the master said, gazing intently at Kairi.

A/N: And that's the end of this series until KH3 comes out! R&R, peeps!


End file.
